First Nations grab a piece of pot pie
Mohawk Council of Kahnawake sign deal with Canopy Growth
Just upriver from downtown Montreal, the Kahnawake First Nation council office takes pride of place in the reserve’s modest skyline, along with a youth centre and a pair of churches.
Soon, however, these old edifices may all be dwarfed by a sprawling, state-of-the-art greenhouse sprouting with cannabis plants and buzzing with cultivators of Canada’s newest legal commodity. The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake has signed a non-bind- ing agreement with Canopy Growth Corp. The potential deal would see the First Nation host a 4,650-square-metre production facility, plus a processing and packaging space nearly half that size.
“We rely almost completely on outside government cash. We need a stable source of income so that we can then give it back to our people,” said Grand Chief Joe Norton, pointing to plans for enhanced park spaces, health and addictions treatment and a Mohawk language program.
Kahnawake is hardly alone. First Nations across the country are capitalizing on cannabis legalization — set for Oct. 17 — with plans for production plants, partnerships and invest- ments. But the potential windfalls come with concerns around social fallout and clashes over jurisdiction. As of last August, there were at least five licensed producers and 14 applicants with Indigenous ties, according to Health Canada. But dozens of First Nations are linking up directly with cannabis companies that already have licences, Norton said.
Not everyone is so patient. The Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in eastern Ontario is one of several communities where entrepreneurs have defied federal law to open dispensaries ahead of legalization.
“The community itself is divided on the whole issue of cannabis,” said Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Chief Jean Guy Whiteduck, citing community wellness concerns. “Not everyone sees it as a get-rich-quick scheme.”
Taxation, too, remains a key sticking point, with a deal hashed out between Ottawa and the provinces last December giving provincial governments 75 cents of every dollar collected in cannabis excise taxes and the rest flowing to the federal coffers.
In the rush to legalize, Ottawa failed to properly consult First Nations on the cannabis tax framework and regulatory control, said Manny Jules, chief commissioner of the First Nations Tax Commission. Jules has called for First Nations authority over production, licensing and distribution, as well as a share of the taxes.
Justice Minister Jody WilsonRaybould and Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor have said they are open to consultations with Indigenous groups when regulations to Bill C-45 are being drafted, after Oct. 17.
Some fear legal pot will recreate the colonial violence of alcohol or foster dependency in young people. But for others, cannabis — and the money it will generate — is a potential relief from those very wounds.